$500 Gig-able Pedalboard Contd.

I'm starting a sequel to al carmichael's $500 Gig-able Pedalboard Challenge, posted 10/29/05. It was the most informative thread I've found on three forums. The rules in brief are to choose about five pedals and a pedalboard that you could play any genre with--but no ebay-pie-in-the-sky-deals. I would also add: no TBA Behringer pedals, because who knows when the next batch will be out for sure.
Here's my choice: (1) Jekyll & Hyde overdrive, both sides on for killer rhythm chunk ($140), (2) H20 Chorus/Delay, about 200ms slapback delay always on for ambience, chorus for clean--Jekyll & Hyde off--($165), (3) Danelectro Eq and also Compressor, both engaged for solo boost ($60), (4) Large Core metal pedalboard with 1Spot power ($100), (5) velcro and patch cables ($35) = $500. Now, how to get the $?! WOW, *EDIT*THIS IS AN OLD THREAD! MY NEW, $500, GIGABLE SET-UP WOULD BE (1) EQ-SPEAKER EMULATOR BOX I'M DESIGNING, $340, (2) DOD FLASHBACK FUZZ, $40, (3) DANO PB & J DELAY, $60, (4) ELECTRO-HARMONIX GIG-BAG AND HOSA PATCH CABLES, $50. STRAIGHT TO P.A. (THEN STRAIGHT TO THE AFTER-SHOW PARTY WITH ONE BAG IN EACH HAND!) :BEER :RoCkIn

I learned a lot from the responses to the original thread. Very interesting. I know setting a limit on price is a very subjective thing. There are players who have the wherewithal to spend endless sums to get a pedal board that meets their expectations, and these days, the difference between good and great may set you back a bill or two. A Fulltone TTE alone is almost twice as much as the ceiling for this challenge. And I TOTALLY understand the guy who has to have one when its central to his sound.

The last $500 pedalboard thread brought out some serious bang for the buck pedal ideas as well as a CENTRAL question: what kind of AMP are you using? If you have a two or three channel amp, maybe you don't need overdrive or distortion pedals at all. The other thing is about what sound will you use most of the time? Thats where I'd put the most money.

For me, I play a single channel Fender clone. Clean and overdrive are most important. Distortion is less important. I like a warm analog sounding echo/delay too. I'm only a fan of chorus if its in stereo, so I don't use it at all.

So, all that being said, here's my latest thinking:

MXR DynaComp: My favorite compressor. Yeah, its not transparent--it does something to the sound, but I LIKE what it does, especially with single coils. I'd buy it even if I had $2000 to spend on effects.

Zendrive: For overdrive, this one does it the way I like it. I do not own one, but I did a gig with a borrowed one from jpagey, and it was the only pedal I used that night. Loved it--esp for the price.

Distortion: Here's where I get cheap. Proco Rat. I like it much better than the Boss DS-1. I like it better than the Fulltone Distortion Pro. I've used one for years. Set fairly low, its OK as an overdrive and it has gobs of distortion if you need it. Doesn't clean up with the volume knob and its not extremely touch sensitive, but I'm only using it on a few tunes, so I'll make it work.

Chorus/Vibrato: I don't use these, but if I did, I'd be inclined to go for a Electro-harmonix Small Clone. Why? I tried one in a store and was surprised at how cool it sounded. On a gig, it might be tone sucking terrible, but its cheap so I might go that route.

Echo/Delay: I'm intrigued by the Ibanez DigDelay, just because of all the guys who suggested it. Never USED one, but I trust opinions when they come in multiples. The two I use regularly are the Ibanez EchoMachine and the Dan Echo. I don't know if either are made anymore, but the Dan Echo is the better of the two.

Boost: Useless for some, but I like them. To fit the budget, the MXR Micro Amp does its thing well for what I do. There are "better" devices, but not for the money--unless Sean at Lovepedal is making a production version of his 1/2 of a Twin 60. Then, I'd go for that. And if boost was a big part of my sound, I'd just get the Twin 60 and forget the chorus altogether.

Pedalboard: piece of pine from Home depot, some industrial velcro and a 1Spot.

Disclaimer: Please don't bust my chops about these selections. I'm not raving and saying any of these are the ultimate pedals out there. I'd much rather use an Eternity than a Rat, but that breaks the bank. Likewise, I'd love a true tape echo, but thats out for this exercise. And, I would love to have my original Chorus Ensemble again. There are a bunch of other pedals I'd love to try but haven't.

As a cheap overdrive alternative, I thought the Boss SD-1 with the mods at Custom Guitar sounded fantastic in the clips. All for about $60.00, DIY. We are talking making it happen on a budget, right?

I'll have to go back and re-read the original thread, but lately I find myself stranded without my main pedalboard (it's living at the recording studio). My main board consists of the following, echoczar, bjf honey bee, zvex wah probe, analogman clone chorus, skreddy mayo, lovepedal balance, rv5, phase 90. So as we practice back at our rehearsal space, I've had to make do with what's lying around and recent acquisitions. So now I'm using a dodfx 90 delay, sd-1, ds-1, usa big muff, verbzilla and a mooger murf. And i gotta say, while I miss the echoczar the most, I still sound like me (for good or for bad). Yes there's some tonal nuances missing (sd-1 is no honey bee), it's certainly a serviceable set of gear at maybe 10-15% of the total cost of my main board. It's a fun lesson to learn, and an interesting experiment. It makes me ask how much better each of my main board equivalents is better than their cheaper stand-ins.

Okay, to make the decisions easier, assume you neither have an amp , nor do you have access to one: you're going to have to plug straight into the PA until the gig funds start rolling in... Also, a recent thread seems to rule out the $500 Vox Tonelab SE (check out the thread.)

Actually, I've never played through an amp that DIDN'T suck a** (Marshalls, original Fender Bassman, $1500 Randall that I broke the bank to buy, Mesa Boogies...that's why I built my own setup with just overdriven transistors, Eq, comp, and delay/chorus--the key to tone (and low noise) is good Eq. The set-up in my first post approximates my set-up, but I'm looking for feedback (pun) before I decide to launch my own product.

Originally posted by tocs100 Okay, to make the decisions easier, assume you neither have an amp , nor do you have access to one: you're going to have to plug straight into the PA until the gig funds start rolling in... Also, a recent thread seems to rule out the $500 Vox Tonelab SE (check out the thread.)

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A couple years ago, I sat in on somebody else's gig on a couple tunes. I didn't have an amp with me, but I had my Zoom 707 that I use for headphone practice. We plugged into one channel of the PA, and I used the "Smooth" patch exclusively. After the set, two different people actually asked me what amp I was using? I told them to ask the sound man.

Originally posted by tocs100 Actually, I've never played through an amp that DIDN'T suck a** (Marshalls, original Fender Bassman, $1500 Randall that I broke the bank to buy, Mesa Boogies...that's why I built my own setup with just overdriven transistors, Eq, comp, and delay/chorus--the key to tone (and low noise) is good Eq. The set-up in my first post approximates my set-up, but I'm looking for feedback (pun) before I decide to launch my own product.

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i'm not trying to be sarcastic, but seriously, no b.s.?

you can honestly say that every amp you've ever played through has sucked?

Yes, seriously. And my ears have been at it for over 20 years. To be fair though, I liked my late '80s Randall half-stack live, but miked live or in the studio and the magic was gone--same thing when hearing the amp from the side--the crunch just evaporated into out-of-phase reflections from whatever room.

Ive been lurking on this board for a while (this is my first post). Ive learned a lot, and like many have gone through a bunch of gear looking for my ideal tones. I like and use three distinct drive sounds: light, medium, heavy  so Ive broken the parameters by listing three instead of two (sorry!). I use this setup with noiseless single coil and humbuckers into a clean tube amp (I like EL-84s).

Here is my setup, with some commentary on why I chose these particular pedals. The prices listed are the prices I actually paid. All comments are IMHO, of course.

Boost: ZOOM PD-01 ($50 used)  Set drive to zero and its a great clean boost. The ability to use the EQ shaping is fantastic. I like my boosts to go before any overdrive/distortions, but this is a much debated topic and really is just personal preference. To my ears, it adds a touch of compression as it boosts  which I like when soloing.

Light Overdrive: Danelectro FAB1 distortion ($15 new)  Set the distortion level very low and you can get an excellent pushed sound.

Medium Overdrive: MI Audio Blue Boy ($130 new)  This is my favorite overdrive by far. Has a complex and rich sound that I havent found in any other pedal. Worth every penny.

Distortion: Vintage RAT RI ($50 used)  I love the RAT for a more-or-less Marshall sound. The sweet spot for the drive is between 9-11 oclock.

Secret Weapon: Boss NS-2 ($80 new)  I leave this on all the time and mainly use it for two reasons: (1) it adds a slight volume boost to push the preamp tubes slightly, (2) it adds presence to the sound that focuses the distortion pedals like a post-distortion EQ pedal would. I dont actually use if for the noise suppression (although that is an added bonus).

Delay: Boss DD-2 ($100 new)  I bought this new in the mid-80s and have hung on to it. I set it for ~250 ms, with 3-4 repeats, and effect level very low (just barely hear it in the mix).

Chorus: Boss CE-5 ($80 new)  I use this last in the signal chain. The low and high filters are great at getting a final EQ tweak before sending the signal to the amp.

TOTAL COST: $505

I built my own pedal board by modeling it after my friends PedalTrain board. I bought a soft-sided suitcase at a Thrift store ($5), lined the top and bottom with foam ($20), and then measured and built the board to fit exactly inside. I use hook side Velcro on top of the pedalboard, and loop side Velcro on the bottom of the pedals. All pedals are connected by cheap Fender Electrovolt 6-inch cables.

The board is powered by a One-Spot adapter into a power strip on the left side of the board. For a visual reference, check out Brett Garseds board on his website. I sort of designed my board after seeing his.

That leaves about $61. That goes to added expenses in shipping or a "honey deal" for some kind of Boss modulation pedal used--whatever, it doesn't matter. Oh yea, and the pedalboard would be a plywood board--free if its scrap.

with an amp:
I'd get some sort of power daisy chain and all used boss pedals and maybe a BYOC fuzz--whatever the band's tunes called for.

Hey I'm in almost the same boat as you describe but I'm in Australia so my budget is about 350-400 USD (factor in the fact that most pedals in the US sell for almost double or triple the US RRP). I think it's important to spend more on effects that you use more regularly. Distortion/Overdrive, Wah, Phaser and delay are the most common efects I use in that order. So I allocate more in that order (DUH). I've just bought a very clean amp the Roland JC90. THe dirt channel is sorely lacking in the balls department and I'm after a Marshall type tone so I bought a Jackhammer JH-1 which sounds quite good throught the amp.($100 Aus 40% of rrp here) I've just bought a used Crybaby modded for true bypass from the US for 35USD shipping was quite expensive though even using USPS all up it costs about $90AUS incl shipping & exchange rates. I like the crybaby which retails for $250 Australian here so I think this was a steal. I was given a DOD fx76 fuzz/distortion which I'm trying to swap with a forumite for a Ibanez Chorus pedal.

But I think the best buy was the one I bought on my lunch break today. THe Behringer Phaser VP1. I have no expereience with the small stone only the MXR Phase 90 in limited use (been borrowing one for almost 3 months had to return it last week). This is an effect that I use regularly but at really low levels. This thing sounds pretty good, extrmely pleasant sounding with the know around set at 3 or under. Hey it works for me, it's in a metal case and it will take a beating. The switches and knobs are a bit cheap feeling but they're an easy fix.

So far I've spent about 250 of my budget. There's really only two or three things I need now which I have some idea about at least a delay (Dano PB&J), a chorus (which I'm hoping I can get in a trade) and an eq (Dano fish and chips, Behringer pedal EQ) and maybe a volume pedal.

I do gig but not regularly (maybe once or twice a month at most) for a covers band and I have complete confidence in the durability of these things in terms of circuitry. But I am competent enough that I think I might be able to rehouse some of the plastic stompboxes in some small metal housings I've got access to.

Sorry about the length of the post but there are some bargains out there. Used stuff is great and ebay, the gear emporium here, musicgoround.com are all great places to find good stuff for cheap(er). But some of the budget stuff out there can be just as good in different kind of way. As in you'll get unique sound, especially for me being in a covers band. I can sound fairly close to the original but it's not a exact copy there's a little bit of my character in the sound I make. Also don't be afraid to haggle especially if you're buying new or when you buy multiple effects from the same place (also helps if they know you by name). Use your relationship with stores especially if you're a repeat customer like me. I'm a cheap bastard - I can't help it.